Singing the anthem not just for the brave

Professor's 100-ballpark tour aims to show how easy it is

July 28, 2011|By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter

O, say can you sing? Joseph Price thinks everyone should be able to belt out the "The Star-Spangled Banner," and he's crooning in the key of G at 100 of the nation's minor league baseball parks to prove it.

His anthem tour brought him to Elfstrom Stadium in Geneva on Wednesday, where the Kane County Cougars played the first of three home games against the Cedar Rapids Kernels.

A religion professor at Whittier College in California and author of books and essays about the relationship between sports and religion, Price is researching his next book on the ritual of singing the anthem before America's so-called national pastime. But he also wants fans to sing along.

"I would love to prove 'The Star-Spangled Banner' is a singable tune if done in the right key, and that it's accessible to everyone if it's sung basically as it's written," said Price, 62. "I'm hoping to add respect and dignity to the singing of the anthem in the way that brings attention to the anthem itself and expresses the great joy in the freedom it represents."

Price first performed the anthem before a White Sox game at old Comiskey Park in 1977. Then a graduate student at the University of Chicago Divinity School, he since has crooned at more than 30 major league games. Though he originally sang in the key of A flat, he has discovered the key of G is easier since his voice has matured. (The song is most often played in B flat.)

The difficult range of the tune is one reason a Mennonite college in Indiana is searching for an alternative to the anthem at sporting events.

Richard Aguirre, director of public relations at Goshen College, said some alumni and leaders also believed it wasn't fair to expect international students to sing their host country's anthem. Some believed the lyrics — rockets' red glare, bombs bursting in air — contradicted peaceful Mennonite principles.

"They felt the anthem has become a ritual with religious overtones, and allegiance should be to God, not to country," Aguirre said.

Price agrees that the anthem has become a sacred ritual that consecrates the baseball field and game time. Only the players and umpires are allowed on the field after the anthem is performed. Time is suddenly measured by innings instead of minutes and hours.

"It takes on a kind of civil function for baseball in a way that a call to worship or the doxology might set a certain tone for worship in a more recognized religious congregation," he said, adding that spectators seem to appreciate him performing the anthem correctly. "At least for baseball fans, there seems to be a desire to affirm tradition."